Monday, September 27, 2010

I had every intention of making this week's TWD recipe for Tart Fine, but could not muster up the courage to turn on the oven today. I definitely want to make this beautiful tart, but it will have to wait until this heatwave breaks.

I've been needing this additional boost of caffeine. Insomnia + catching up on DVR backlog = not a lot of sleep.Dorie goes bold with the coffee in this recipe. Strong brewed coffee plus a healthy amount of instant espresso gives these muffins its pep.

I thought these muffins needed a little something else, so I topped half of the muffins with a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips.These muffins were super yummy! I actually enjoyed the plain muffins over the chocolate chip topped version. The coffee flavor is not shy, but it doesn't overwhelm. I particularly loved the texture of these muffins - a nice tight crumb, but not overly dense.

These babies will definitely make a repeat appearance at my breakfast table.

In lieu of fresh cranberries, I opted to use Trader Joe's frozen sweetened cranberries. If you have a Trader Joe's in your neighborhood, you've got to run out an grab a bag of these frozen cranberries - they are fantastic! These cranberries are sweetened just a touch, and the bright, tart flavor of the berries shine. I promise that I have not been paid by TJs to write this glowing review - I'm just a raving fan!I love the simplicity of this recipe. A healthy amount of butter and sugar is heated, then poured into a cake pan. A generous amont of cranberries and walnuts are spread over this butter mixture. A simple cinnamon-y cake batter is poured over the fruit, then the whole thing is popped in the oven.

Once the cake is baked and out of the oven, it is time for the dramatic finish - turning the cake out from the pan. I was a bit worried that the fruit would stick to the bottom of the pan, but to my pleasant suprise, this cake unmolded from the pan without a fuss.

My friends, this is one tasty cake! The tender cake is subtly spiced, and it perfectly complements the tart/sweet cranberries perfectly. The walnuts provided a nice textural complement to the cranberries.

About Me

By day, I'm a corporate serf navigating the business jungle, but have sweet dreams of opening my own pastry shop. As I work on making my dream a reality, this blog provides me an outlet to share my passion for creating all things sweet (and some savory)!